"Be a
Child. Be Amazed."
Ayutthaya
January 25, 2006
Three or so hours out of Sukothai the big aircon bus
unexpectedly stops and lets me off in the middle of
a busy four-lane highway.
"You have to take a mini van to Ayutthaya."
"How far?"
"Six kilometers."
"Excuse me?"
"We have to go now."
Faith
 Several small, 125 cc motorcycle taxis are there beside
the meridian shelter. One driver offers to take me to
the city. I have a day bag and a huge castered suitcase
now. "Ha, ha, ha, no thanks." I wait several minutes
and actually consider the taxi. No, that would be dangerously
silly. But I admire the man's belief in his ability.
Hope
 Then I see the minivan coming. Then, I realize the minivan will stop on
the outside lane. With horns honking I make the dash to the other side.
Suddenly I feel like the frog in the Frogger video game. The "minivan" is
a huge, dilapidated bus belching noxious blue exhaust, with no glass in
the windows and wooden benches for seats. I scramble up the back stairs
and take a seat. The Ayutthaya arrival is hectic but I find a good room on
short notice in the center of town.
Ask and it will be given.
 Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. The ancient
city is characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic
monasteries which give an idea of its past splendour. It remained the
capital from 1350 until 1867 when the invading Burmese destroyed it. The
evening quickly approaches. I have one night before I catch the train to
Bangkok. Originally I wanted to take the train from Sukothai but
"fortunately" no tickets were available. Earlier I was reviewing photos
and thinking " I need more opportunities for colorful shots." "I need more
people pictures." The historical site which is supposedly lit up at night
but inaccessible, is only a short walk from the guest house. Maybe I can
get a few good night photos.
Seek and you will find.
 The ruins are set back from the road across a small
ditch and surrounded by a fence. There are people everywhere.
Then I see something moving in the ditch. It's an elephant.
Then I see another one and another one. What's going
on? I follow the trail of elephants around to an entrance.
Then I see some huge speakers and very large grandstands.
I am swept along with the crowd. They all have tickets
but for what? I tell the man at the gate I don't have
a ticket. There is confusion at first and then he finds
someone who speaks English. Suddenly, with no ticket,
I am escorted to front row center and seated next to
the governor of the province. "You can get very good
pictures here." explains my guide. "Tonight is a very
special performance. Tonight we re-enact the history
of Thailand in the Ayutthaya ruins."
Floating Passion
 The staging must have been extremely difficult for a performance of such
grand scale. Complete with elaborate costumes, laser light show,
fireworks, elephant battles and a cast of hundreds reliving a history of
400 years. My favorite part came towards the end. One by one, 40 to 50
candle-lit, paper balloons slowly rose from behind a temple in the east
and drifted silently westward across a near-full moon. Drifting perhaps
more from the turning of the world than from the slight hint of a breeze.
I try to imagine a farmer from this era coming to this city for the first
time. The grandeur of the walled city of Ayutthaya would have been the
palace of the gods to him.
The Moon Cafe
 The performance concludes. I make my way back to the guest house. The
day's heat is still settling. On the way back I notice a small dark cafe
with drums and amps. The Moon Cafe is narrow and long with only a few
locals there. Soon we are talking and "Guy" gets up to play a few tunes.
Thai folk music is strangely familiar yet different with a unique, subtle
double beat rhythm. After a few tunes, I join him on a couple more. Then
with me on the guitar, Guy takes to the drums and some girls join in on
the vocals. One girl sings a Japanese folk song that everyone except me
knows. There were only ten of us but we sang and danced deep into the
night. Later we jumped on bikes and headed to the local market for some
early morning noodles before saying goodbye.
Next: Sukothai, The First Capital of Siam.
Previous entry: Bangkok
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